54 research outputs found
Identification of vehicle related risk factors, deliverable 6.1 of the H2020 project SafetyCube
The present Deliverable (D6.1) describes the identification and evaluation of vehicle related risk
factors. It outlines the results of Task 6.1 of Work Package 6 (WP6) of SafetyCube, which aimed to
identify and evaluate vehicle related risk factors and related road safety problems by (i) presenting a
taxonomy of vehicle related risks, (ii) identifying âhot topicsâ of concern for relevant stakeholders
and (iii) evaluating the relative importance for road safety outcomes (crash risk, crash frequency and
severity etc.) within the scientific literature for each identified risk factor. To reach this objective,
Task 6.1 has initially exploited current knowledge (e.g. existing studies) and existing accident data
(macroscopic and in-depth) in order to quantify scenarios (defined in Work Package 8) related to the
vehicle element. This information will help further on in WP6 to identify countermeasures for
addressing these risk factors and finally to undertake an assessment of the effects of these
countermeasures (...continues)
Identification of road user related risk factors, deliverable 4.1 of the H2020 project SafetyCube.
Safety CaUsation, Benefits and Efficiency (SafetyCube) is a European Commission supported Horizon 2020 project with the objective of developing an innovative road safety Decision Support System (DSS). The DSS will enable policy-makers and stakeholders to select and implement the
most appropriate strategies, measures, and cost-effective approaches to reduce casualties of all road user types and all severities. This document is the first deliverable (4.1) of work package 4 which is dedicated to identifying and assessing human related risk factors and corresponding countermeasures as well as their effect on
road safety. The focus of deliverable 4.1 is on identification and assessment of risk factors and describes the corresponding operational procedure and corresponding outcomes. The following steps have been carried out:
Identification of human related risk factors â creation of a taxonomy
Consultation of relevant stakeholders and policy papers for identification of topic with high priority (âhot topicsâ)
Systematic literature search and selection of relevant studies on identified risk factors
â˘Coding of studies
â˘Analysis of risk factors on basis of coded studies
â˘Synopses of risk factors, including accident scenarios The core output of this task are synopses of risk factors which will be available through the DSS. Within the synopses, each risk factor was analysed systematically on basis of scientific studies and is further assigned to one of four levels of risk (marked with a colour code). Essential information of the more than 180 included studies were coded and will also be available in the database of the DSS. Furthermore, the synopses contain theoretical background on the risk factor and are prepared in different sections with different levels of detail for an academic as well as a non-academic audience. These sections are readable independently. It is important to note that the relationship between road safety and road user related risk factors is a difficult task. For some risk factors the available studies focused more on conditions of the behaviour (in which situations the behaviour is shown or which groups are more likely to show this
behaviour) rather than the risk factor itself. Therefore, it cannot be concluded that those risk factors that have not often been studied or have to rely more indirect and arguably weaker methodologies, e.g. self-reports , do not increase the chance of a crash occurring. The following analysed risk factors were assessed as âriskyâ, âprobably riskyâ or âunclearâ. No risk
factors were identified as âprobably not riskyâ.
Risky Probably risky Unclear
⢠Influenced driving â alcohol
⢠Influenced Driving â drugs
(legal & illegal)
⢠Speeding and inappropriate
speed
⢠Traffic rule violations â red
light running
⢠Distraction â cell phone use
(hand held)
⢠Distraction â cell phone use
(hands free)
⢠Distraction â cell phone use
(texting)
⢠Fatigue â sleep disorders â
sleep apnea
⢠Risk taking â overtaking
⢠Risk taking â close following
behaviour
⢠Insufficient knowledge and
skills
⢠Functional impairment â
cognitive impairment
⢠Functional impairment â
vision loss
⢠Diseases and disorders â
diabetes
⢠Personal factors â sensation
seeking
⢠Personal factors â ADHD
⢠Emotions â anger, aggression
⢠Fatigue â Not enough
sleep/driving while tired
⢠Distraction â conversation
with passengers
⢠Distraction â outside of
vehicle
⢠Distraction â cognitive
overload and inattention
⢠Functional impairment â
hearing loss (few studies)
⢠Observation errors (few studies)
⢠Distraction â music â
entertainment systems (many
studies, mixed results)
⢠Distraction â operating devices
(many studies, mixed results)
The next step in SafetyCubeâs WP4 is to identify and assess the effectiveness of measures and to establish a link to the identified risk factors. The work of this first task indicates a set of risk factors
that should be centre of attention when identifying corresponding road safety measures (category âriskyâ)
Identification and safety effects of road user related measures. Deliverable 4.2 of the H2020 project SafetyCube
Safety CaUsation, Benefits and Efficiency (SafetyCube) is a European Commission supported
Horizon 2020 project with the objective of developing an innovative road safety Decision Support
System (DSS). The DSS will enable policy-makers and stakeholders to select and implement the
most appropriate strategies, measures, and cost-effective approaches to reduce casualties of all
road user types and all severities.
This document is the second deliverable (4.2) of work package 4, which is dedicated to identifying
and assessing road safety measures related to road users in terms of their effectiveness.
The focus of deliverable 4.2 is on the identification and assessment of countermeasures and
describes the corresponding operational procedure and outcomes. Measures which intend to
increase road safety of all kind of road user groups have been considered [...continues]
XeNA: an automated âopen-sourceâ 129Xe hyperpolarizer for clinical use
Here we provide a full report on the construction, components, and capabilities of our consortiumâs âopen-sourceâ large-scale (~ 1 L/h) 129Xe hyperpolarizer for clinical, pre-clinical, and materials NMR/MRI (Nikolaou et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 110, 14150 (2013)). The âhyperpolarizerâ is automated and built mostly of off-the-shelf components; moreover, it is designed to be cost-effective and installed in both research laboratories and clinical settings with materials costing less than $125,000. The device runs in the xenon-rich regime (up to 1800 Torr Xe in 0.5 L) in either stopped-flow or single-batch modeâmaking cryo-collection of the hyperpolarized gas unnecessary for many applications. In-cell 129Xe nuclear spin polarization values of ~ 30%â90% have been measured for Xe loadings of ~ 300â1600 Torr. Typical 129Xe polarization build-up and T1 relaxation time constants were ~ 8.5 min and ~ 1.9 h respectively under our spin-exchange optical pumping conditions; such ratios, combined with near-unity Rb electron spin polarizations enabled by the high resonant laser power (up to ~ 200 W), permit such high PXe values to be achieved despite the high in-cell Xe densities. Importantly, most of the polarization is maintained during efficient HP gas transfer to other containers, and ultra-long 129Xe relaxation times (up to nearly 6 h) were observed in Tedlar bags following transport to a clinical 3 T scanner for MR spectroscopy and imaging as a prelude to in vivo experiments. The device has received FDA IND approval for a clinical study of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease subjects. The primary focus of this paper is on the technical/engineering development of the polarizer, with the explicit goals of facilitating the adaptation of design features and operative modes into other laboratories, and of spurring the further advancement of HP-gas MR applications in biomedicine
The F0F1-ATP Synthase Complex Contains Novel Subunits and Is Essential for Procyclic Trypanosoma brucei
The mitochondrial F0F1 ATP synthase is an essential multi-subunit protein complex in the vast majority of eukaryotes but little is known about its composition and role in Trypanosoma brucei, an early diverged eukaryotic pathogen. We purified the F0F1 ATP synthase by a combination of affinity purification, immunoprecipitation and blue-native gel electrophoresis and characterized its composition and function. We identified 22 proteins of which five are related to F1 subunits, three to F0 subunits, and 14 which have no obvious homology to proteins outside the kinetoplastids. RNAi silencing of expression of the F1 Îą subunit or either of the two novel proteins showed that they are each essential for the viability of procyclic (insect stage) cells and are important for the structural integrity of the F0F1-ATP synthase complex. We also observed a dramatic decrease in ATP production by oxidative phosphorylation after silencing expression of each of these proteins while substrate phosphorylation was not severely affected. Our procyclic T. brucei cells were sensitive to the ATP synthase inhibitor oligomycin even in the presence of glucose contrary to earlier reports. Hence, the two novel proteins appear essential for the structural organization of the functional complex and regulation of mitochondrial energy generation in these organisms is more complicated than previously thought
The use of earthworms in ecological soil classification and assessment concepts
Without doubt, earthworms are the most important soil invertebrates in most soils worldwide, in terms of both biomass and activity. Several species are even considered to be ecosystem engineers. Earthworms are also known to influence soil structure, soil chemistry, and, in particular, processes like organic matter decomposition. In addition, standardized sampling methods are available and their taxonomy is well known (even the first PC-aided keys have been developed). For these reasons, earthworms were recognized as a part of ecological classification and assessment schemes early on. However, due to the relatively small number at many sites, they have to be part of a battery approach. By use of examples from The Netherlands (biological indicator of soil quality) and Germany (soil biological site classification), the practicability of the use of earthworms is demonstrated in determining the influence of different anthropogenic land use forms. In these cases, the structure of the earthworm community, as well as their abundance and biomass, were used as endpoints
Earthworms as bioindicators (in particular for the influence of land use).
Este assunto ĂŠ discutido em maior detalhe, usando dois estudos de caso, da Alemanha (comunidades de minhocas em agroecossistemas) e do Brasil (minhocas em sistemas agroflorestais). Os oligoquetas, e, em particular, as minhocas sĂŁo bons indicadores dos efeitos de produtos quĂmicos, assim como de diferentes formas de uso da terra, sobre a biocenose edĂĄfica. Para melhorar a base cientĂfica de seu uso como indicadores, programas de monitoramento de comunidades de minhocas em larga escala e em diferentes regiĂľes devem ser realizados, alĂŠm de uma melhora significativa na capacidade de identificação taxonĂ´mica destes animais
Development of a Listeria monocytogenes EGDe partial proteome reference map and comparison with the protein profiles of food isolates
A partially annotated proteome reference map of the food pathogen Listeria monocytogenes was developed for exponentially growing cells under standardized, optimal conditions by using the sequenced strain EGDe (serotype 1/2a) as a model organism. The map was developed by using a reproducible total protein extraction and two-dimensional (2-D) polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis procedure, and it contained 33 identified proteins representing the four main protein functional classes. In order to facilitate analysis of membrane proteins, a protein compartmentalization procedure was assessed. The method used provided partial fractionation of membrane and cytosolic proteins. The total protein 2-D profiles of three serotype 1/2a strains and one serotype 1/2b strain isolated from food were compared to the L. monocytogenes EGDe proteome. An average of 13% of the major protein spots in the food strain proteomes were not matched in the strain EGDe proteome. The variation was greater for the less intense spots, and on average 28% of these spots were not matched. Two of the proteins identified in L. monocytogenes EGDe were missing in one or more of the food isolates. These two proteins were proteins involved in the main glycolytic pathway and in metabolism of coenzymes and prosthetic groups. The two corresponding genes were found by PCR amplification to be present in the four food isolates. Our results show that the L. monocytogenes EGDe reference map is a valuable starting point for analyses of strains having various origins and could be useful for analyzing the proteomes of different isolates of this pathogen.Articl
Development of a <I>Listeria monocytogenes </I>EGDe partial proteome reference map and comparison with the protein profiles of food isolates
NatuurwetenskappeBiochemiePlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected]
High-level resistance to class IIa bacteriocins is associated with one general mechanism in <I>Listeria monocytogenes</I>
NatuurwetenskappeBiochemiePlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected]
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